Originally posted by VirginiaR:
2) Hollywood has a VERY annoying tradition (plot device) of 'always risking everything to going back for the dog' (it's never the cat or the fish or the bird, ALWAYS the dog). It happens so much in action films, you can almost predict it happening. Oh, look, they have a dog in this film, I wonder who and when they'll save it from certain death. They did this most notably in "Independence Day", but this is the first time I can recall doing so actually kills said 'hero' (of the dog). The dog ALWAYS survives though. So, in this vein, I loved the surprise of Jonathan not surviving, and risking all to keep Clark's secret. I'm hoping this means less use of this plot device in the future.
*coughcough* Um, perhaps you should watch "I Am Legend." Or on second thought, don't. Like ever. Suffice it to say that dog dies.
Also, a large reason they do that is because people relate strongly to dogs. I can watch people die left and right in live action movies, sometimes done well and other times not, and never be as strongly impacted as when a dog (or animal of sort-- if it's not a dog, then they will use a horse, if you'll notice). I've never cried so hard in my life as with both "Marley and Me" and "Stone Fox" (the latter was actually my third grade teacher's brilliant idea for a class read/follow up movie. She obviously did not consider she'd have 32 bawling students on her hands afterwards.) Psychologically speaking, audience members connect to dogs the most out of anything-- most people have an easy time disconnecting from the main characters and viewing the movie as though they were apart of it by the side of the hero (AKA the dog). We experience the trauma and events, we consider ourselves to be companions with our hero but not the hero ourselves, we sympathize and are affected, and we usually don't die at the end of the movie. :p Thus, it's usually a very bold move to actually have a dog die in the film. The same goes for comedies, except instead of the audience being the dog we are the idiot who asks all of the annoying questions (sometimes a kid).
I also liked the scene when Martha told Clark that his father knew that Clark would grow up to be a hero by watching him pretend to be a hero as a kid. Hmmmm. Maybe I should worry more about my son playing 'mad scientist'.
Have you watched Dr. Horrible? If not, it may only encourage him, so depending on which end of the clark kent-lex luthor spectrum you're shooting for...
